The first American Thanksgiving was held by the French, not the Pilgrims

Thanksgiving is a time of traditions - traditions and myths. By now, after sundry articles and Thanksgiving specials, you've probably seen a few of these myths busted - like the false claim that turkey causes sleepiness due to tryptophan, for example. But did you know that the first Thanksgiving feast in America was actually celebrated by the French? From the New York Times:

Long before the Pilgrims sailed in 1620, another group of dissident Christians sought a haven in which to worship freely. These French Calvinists, or Huguenots, hoped to escape the sectarian fighting between Catholics and Protestants that had bloodied France since 1560.

Landing in balmy Florida in June of 1564, at what a French explorer had earlier named the River of May (now the St. Johns River near Jacksonville), the French émigrés promptly held a service of "thanksgiving." Carrying the seeds of a new colony, they also brought cannons to fortify the small, wooden enclosure they named Fort Caroline, in honor of their king, Charles IX.

Read more here. And happy Thanksgiving!